Overcurrent and ground fault protection in a networked charging station for electric vehicles

ABSTRACT

A networked charging station for electric vehicles protects against overcurrent and ground fault conditions. Upon detecting an overcurrent condition or a ground fault condition, the networked charging station for electric vehicles de-energizes a charging point connection to prevent electric current from flowing between an electric vehicle and the networked charging station and suspends the charging session. The networked charging station clears the overcurrent condition or the ground fault condition upon receipt of an authorized request which is transmitted remotely. The authorized request can be received from the vehicle operator that is associated with the charging session or from an administrator of the charging station through a radio-frequency identifier (RFID) tag enabled device or through a text message or an email message. The networked charging station clears the overcurrent condition or the ground fault condition without a manual reset of a circuit breaker or a GFCI device respectively.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of charging electricvehicles, and more specifically to overcurrent and ground faultprotection in a networked charging station for electric vehicles.

2. Background

Charging stations are typically used to provide charging points forelectric vehicles (e.g., electric battery powered vehicles,gasoline/electric battery powered vehicle hybrid, etc.). For example,charging stations may be located in designated charging locations (e.g.,similar to locations of gas stations), parking spaces (e.g., publicparking spaces and/or private parking space), etc.

One or more charging stations are typically wired to a circuit breakerin a panel that is accessible by maintenance personnel and isinaccessible to vehicle operators. Thus, when the circuit breaker trips,a maintenance call is typically placed which requires maintenancepersonnel to physically travel to the site of the panel of the trippedcircuit breaker to manually reset the tripped circuit breaker.

Charging stations typically include a power receptacle to receiveelectrical plugs. The power receptacle can be protected by a groundfault circuit interrupter (GFCI) device. In typical charging stations,the GFCI switch must be manually reset after tripping.

SUMMARY

A method and apparatus for overcurrent and ground fault protection in anetworked charging station for electric vehicles is described herein. Acharging session is established between an electric vehicle and thenetworked charging station including energizing a charging pointconnection (e.g., a power receptacle or an attached charging cord) ofthe networked charging station to allow electricity to flow between thenetworked charging station and the electric vehicle. The networkedcharging station monitors the electric current between the networkedcharging station and the electric vehicle.

Responsive to detecting an overcurrent condition (e.g., electric currenthas exceeded an electric current threshold), the networked chargingstation suspends the charging station and de-energizes the chargingpoint connection to prevent electricity from flowing between thenetworked charging station and the electric vehicle. The networkedcharging station can also cause a notification message (e.g., email,text message (e.g., text message), etc.) reflecting the overcurrentcondition and suspension of the charging session to be transmitted tothe vehicle operator associated with the charging session and/or toadministrator(s) and/or owner(s) of the networked charging station. Thenetworked charging station is configured to resume the charging sessionand re-energize the power receptacle upon receipt of an authorizedremote overcurrent reset request thereby avoiding a manual reset of acircuit breaker coupled with the networked charging station. The remoteovercurrent reset request can be received from the operator whichinitiated the charging session (e.g., the operator can present a smartcard with an embedded RFID tag associated with the operator to thenetworked charging station, the operator can use a subscriber web portalto submit the request, the operator can transmit a text message or emailmessage to submit the request, etc.) or the request can be received froman administrator or owner of the networked charging station (e.g., anadministrator or owner of the networked charging station can present asmart card with an embedded RFID tag associated with a master orsupervisor account, an administrator or owner can use a host web portalto submit the request, the owner or administrator can transmit a textmessage or email message to submit the request, etc.).

Responsive to detecting a ground fault condition, the networked chargingstation suspends the charging session and de-energizes the chargingpoint connection to prevent electricity from flowing between thenetworked charging station and the electric vehicle. The networkedcharging station can also cause a notification message (e.g., email,text message, etc.) reflecting the ground fault circuit interruptcondition to be transmitted to the operator associated with the chargingsession and/or to administrator(s) and/or owner(s) of the networkedcharging station. The networked charging station is configured to resumethe charging session and re-energize the power receptacle upon receiptof an authorized remote ground fault circuit interrupt reset requestthereby avoiding a manual reset of a ground fault circuit interruptdevice. The remote ground fault circuit interrupt request can bereceived from the operator which initiated the charging session (e.g.,the operator can present a smart card with an embedded RFID tagassociated with the operator to the networked charging station, theoperator can use a subscriber web portal to submit the request, theoperator can transmit a text message or email message to submit therequest, etc.) or the request can be received from an administrator orowner of the networked charging station (e.g., an administrator or ownerof the networked charging station can present a smart card with anembedded RFID tag associated with a master or supervisor account, anadministrator or owner can use a host web portal to submit the request,the owner or administrator can transmit a text message or email messageto submit the request, etc.).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may best be understood by referring to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings that are used to illustrateembodiments of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary charging system according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary network of charging stations that areeach wired to the same circuit breaker according to one embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 2B illustrates an alternative network of charging stations that areeach wired to an individual circuit breaker according to one embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the charging stationillustrated in FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary operations for remotelyclearing overcurrent conditions and/or ground fault conditions in anetworked charging station for electric vehicles according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary state diagram for a networked chargingstation for electric vehicles that allows for a remote clearing ofovercurrent conditions and/or ground fault conditions according to oneembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary architecture of acomputing device that may be used in some embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth.However, it is understood that embodiments of the invention may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knowncircuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail inorder not to obscure the understanding of this description. Those ofordinary skill in the art, with the included descriptions, will be ableto implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.

References in the specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”,“an example embodiment”, etc., indicate that the embodiment describedmay include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, butevery embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

In the following description and claims, the terms “coupled” and“connected,” along with their derivatives, may be used. It should beunderstood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other.Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected” may be used to indicatethat two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contactwith each other. “Coupled” may mean that two or more elements are indirect physical or electrical contact. However, “coupled” may also meanthat two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, butyet still co-operate or interact with each other.

The techniques shown in the figures can be implemented using code anddata stored and executed on one or more computing devices (e.g.,charging stations, charging station network servers, etc.). As usedherein, a charging station is a piece of equipment, including hardwareand software, to charge electric vehicles. Such computing devices storeand communicate (internally and with other computing devices over anetwork) code and data using machine-readable media, such as machinestorage media (e.g., magnetic disks; optical disks; random accessmemory; read only memory; flash memory devices; phase-change memory) andmachine communication media (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustical orother form of propagated signals—such as carrier waves, infraredsignals, digital signals, etc.). In addition, such computing devicestypically include a set of one or more processors coupled to one or moreother components, such as a storage device, one or more input/outputdevices (e.g., a keyboard, a touchscreen, and/or a display), and anetwork connection. The coupling of the set of processors and othercomponents is typically through one or more busses and bridges (alsotermed as bus controllers). The storage device and signals carrying thenetwork traffic respectively represent one or more machine storage mediaand machine communication media. Thus, the storage device of a givendevice typically stores code and/or data for execution on the set of oneor more processors of that device. Of course, one or more parts of anembodiment of the invention may be implemented using differentcombinations of software, firmware, and/or hardware.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe drawings, which are provided as illustrative examples of theinvention so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice theinvention. Notably, the figures and examples below are not meant tolimit the scope of the present invention to a single embodiment, butother embodiments are possible by way of interchange of some or all ofthe described or illustrated elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary charging system according to oneembodiment of the invention. The charging system illustrated in FIG. 1includes the networked electric vehicle charging station 120(hereinafter referred to as the “charging station” 120), which iscoupled with the power grid 130 over the power line 135. The power grid130 can be owned and/or operated by local utility companies or ownedand/or operated by private persons/companies. The power line 135 iswired to the circuit breaker 125, which can be separate and remote fromthe charging station 120. In one embodiment, the circuit breaker 125 isinaccessible to vehicle operators (e.g., the vehicle operator 145).

The charging station 120 is also coupled with the data control unit 170over the WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network) line 175 (e.g.,Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc.) or other LAN (Local Area Network) links (e.g.,Ethernet, PLC, WiFi, etc.). The data control unit 170 is coupled withthe electric vehicle charging station network server 180 (hereinafter“server” 180) over the WAN (Wide Access Network) connection 185 (e.g.,Cellular (e.g., CDMA, GPRS, etc.) WiFi Internet connection, Plain OldTelephone Service, leased line, etc.). The data control unit 170 is agateway to the server 180 and relays messages and data between thecharging station 120 and the server 180. According to one embodiment ofthe invention, the data control unit 170 can be included as part ofanother charging station as will be described in more detail withreference to FIG. 2. Of course it should be understood that the datacontrol unit 170 can be a separate device not included in a chargingstation or can be included in the charging station 120.

Operators of electric vehicles use the charging station 120 to chargetheir electric vehicles. For example, the electricity storage devices(e.g., batteries, supercapacitors, etc.) of electric vehicles (e.g.,electric powered vehicles, gasoline/electric powered vehicle hybrids,etc.) may be charged through use of the charging station 120. It shouldbe understood that electric vehicle operators may include drivers ofelectric vehicles, passengers of electric vehicles, and/or servicepersonnel of electric vehicles. In one embodiment, the operators ofelectric vehicles provide their own charging cord to charge theirelectric vehicle (e.g., the charging cord 140 belongs to the electricvehicle operator 145), while in other embodiments the charging station120 includes an attached charging cord (e.g., the charging cord 140 isfixably attached to the charging station 120).

In one embodiment, the charging station 120 can charge in a dual mode atdifferent voltages (e.g., 120V and 240V). By way of example, a fixablyattached charging cord is typically used in a higher voltage mode (e.g.,240V) and an unattached charging cord is typically inserted into a powerreceptacle of the charging station 120 in a lower voltage mode (e.g.,120V).

The charging station 120 controls the application of electricity fromthe power grid 130 to the charging point connection 155 (e.g., energizesand de-energizes the charging point connection 155). In one embodiment,the charging point connection 155 is a power receptacle or an attachedcharging cord (e.g., thus the charging station 120 canenergize/de-energize the power receptacle or the attached chargingcord). The power receptacle can be any number of types of receptaclessuch as receptacles conforming to the NEMA (National ElectricalManufacturers Association) standards 5-15, 5-20, and 14-50 or otherstandards (e.g., BS 1363, CEE7, etc.) and may be operating at differentvoltages (e.g., 120V, 240V, 230V, etc.).

The electric vehicle operator 145 may use the communication device 150to initiate and request a charging session for the electric vehicle 110.The communication device 150 may be a WLAN or WPAN device (e.g., one ortwo-way radio-frequency identification (RFID) device, mobile computingdevice (e.g., laptops, palmtop, smartphone, multimedia mobile phone,cellular phone, etc.)), ZigBee device, etc. The communication device 150communicates unique operator-specific information (e.g., operatoridentification information, etc.) to the charging station 120 (eitherdirectly or indirectly through the server 180). In some embodiments,electric vehicle operator 145 may use the communication device 150 tomonitor the charging status of the electric vehicle 110. In oneembodiment of the invention, the communication device 150 may be coupledwith the electric vehicle 110.

Based on the information communicated by the communication device 150, adetermination is made whether the electric vehicle operator 145 isauthorized to use the charging station 120 and thus may utilize thecharging point connection 155 when energized. In one embodiment, thecharging station 120 locally determines whether the operator 145 isauthorized (e.g., by checking whether the operator 145 is represented ona list of authorized users stored in the charging station 120). Inanother embodiment of the invention, the charging station 120 maytransmit an authorization request that includes the information readfrom the communication device 150 to the server 180 (through the datacontrol unit 170) for authorization. In another embodiment of theinvention, the server 180 receives the charging session request from theoperator 145 directly and determines whether the operator 145 isauthorized. In any of these embodiments, if the operator 145 isauthorized, the charging station 120 establishes a charging session andenergizes the charging point connection 155.

It should be understood that the operator 145 may request a chargingsession from the charging station 120 differently in some embodiments ofthe invention. For example, the operator 145 may interact with a paymentstation coupled with the charging station 120, which may then sendappropriate instructions to the charging station 120 regarding thecharging of the vehicle 110 (e.g., instructions to energize the chargingpoint connection 155). The payment station may function similarly to apayment station for a parking space. In addition, a payment stationcoupled with the charging station 120 may be used both for parkingpayment and charging payment.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a charging session isestablished after an operator has been authenticated and authorized toinitiate a charging session (e.g., may use the charging station 120 atthe particular time of the day) and after the charging point connection155 has been energized.

The server 180 provides services for multiple charging stations. Theserver 180 stores vehicle operator information (e.g., operator accountinformation, operator contact information (e.g., operator name, streetaddress, email address, telephone number, etc.)) and typically isresponsible for accounting (e.g., amount of electricity purchased byindividual vehicle operators, etc.). In one embodiment of the invention,the server 180 includes a subscriber portal (available through theInternet) which allows subscribers (owners and operators of electricvehicles) to register for service (which may include providinginformation regarding their electric vehicles, providing paymentinformation, providing contact information, etc.) and perform otherfunctions (e.g., pay for charging sessions, determine availability ofcharging stations, check the charging status of their electricvehicle(s), etc.). In addition, the server 180 may include a host portal(available through the Internet) which allows owners or administratorsof the charging station 120 (and other charging stations) to configuretheir charging stations and perform other functions (e.g., determineaverage usage of charging stations, etc.). Charging stations may also beconfigured using other means in some embodiments of the invention (e.g.,through Telnet, user interface, etc.).

While FIG. 1 illustrates a single charging station 120, it should beunderstood that many charging stations may be networked to the server180 (through one or more data control units) and/or to each other. Inaddition, multiple charging stations can share the same circuit and becoupled with the same circuit breaker in some embodiments. FIG. 2Aillustrates an exemplary network of charging stations according to oneembodiment of the invention. The charging station network 200 includesthe server 180 and the charging stations 120, 210, and 220. The server180 is providing services for each of the charging stations 120, 210,and 220. The charging stations 120, 210, and 220 are part of the radiogroup 270. As used herein, a radio group is a collection of one or morecharging stations that collectively has a single connection to aelectric vehicle charging station network server. Each radio groupincludes one or more data control units (DCUs) which connect thecharging stations with the server. Typically, DCUs are implementedwithin a charging station. However, a data control unit may beimplemented separately from any charging station (e.g., a standalonedevice). It should be understood that the network architectureillustrated in FIG. 2A is exemplary, and other architectures may be usedin embodiments of the invention (e.g., each charging station may have adirect connection with the server 180).

Each DCU acts as a gateway to the server 180 for those charging stationsthat are coupled with that DCU. It should be understood that chargingstations need not have a direct link to a DCU (e.g., a charging stationmay be directly linked to another charging station which itself has adirect link to a DCU). For example, DCU 170 (of the radio group 270 andimplemented in the charging station 220) is coupled with the server 180through the WAN link 185 and is coupled with the charging stations 120and 210. The charging station 120 is directly coupled with the DCU 170via the WPAN links 175 while the charging station 210 is indirectlycoupled with the DCU 170 via the WPAN link 286 to the charging station120 which is itself directly coupled with the DCU 170 via the WPAN link175. Thus, the charging stations 120, 210, and 220 transmit messages tothe server 180, and receive messages from the server 180, through theDCU 170.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, each of the charging stations 120, 210, and220 share the same circuit (they all receive power through the powerline 135) and are all each coupled with the same circuit breaker 125. Itshould be understood that if one of the charging stations 120, 210, and220 causes the circuit breaker 125 to trip then all of the chargingstations will lose their electrical connection with the power grid 130(i.e., they all lose power). Thus, upon the circuit breaker 125tripping, any charging sessions currently in progress on the chargingstations 120, 210, or 220 will be interrupted.

While FIG. 2A exemplary illustrates multiple charging stations beingwired to the same circuit breaker, each charging station in the chargingstation network can be wired to an individual circuit breaker that isnot shared with other charging stations in some embodiments. FIG. 2Billustrates a network of charging stations that are each wired to anindividual circuit breaker according to one embodiment of the invention.FIG. 2B is similar to FIG. 2A with the exception that the chargingstations 120, 210, and 220 are each wired to a separate circuit breaker(circuit breakers 125, 230, and 240 respectively). As illustrated inFIG. 2B, the charging station 120 is wired to the circuit breaker 125and connects to the power grid 130 over the power line 135, the chargingstation 210 is wired to the circuit breaker 230 and connects to thepower grid 130 over the power line 235, and the charging station 220 iswired to the circuit breaker 240 and connects to the power grid 130 overthe power line 245.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the charging station 120according to one embodiment of the invention. The charging station 120includes the charging point connection 155, charging station controller305, the electricity control device 310, the current measuring device320, the RFID reader 330, the user interface 335, the display unit 340,one or more transceivers 350 (e.g., wired transceiver(s) (e.g.,Ethernet, power line communication (PLC), etc.) and/or wirelesstransceiver(s) (e.g., 802.15.4 (e.g., ZigBee, etc.), Bluetooth, WiFi,Infrared, GPRS/GSM, CDMA, etc.)), and the GFCI (ground fault circuitinterrupter) device 360. It should be understood that FIG. 3 illustratesan exemplary architecture of a charging station, and other, differentarchitectures may be used in embodiments of the invention describedherein. For example, some implementations of charging stations may notinclude a user interface, an RFID reader, or a connection to a network.

The RFID reader 330 reads RFID tags from RFID enabled devices (e.g.,smartcards, key fobs, etc., embedded with RFID tag(s)) of operators thatwant to use the charging station 120. For example, the operator 145 maywave/swipe the mobile communication device 150 (if an RFID enableddevice) near the RFID reader 330 to request a charging session from thecharging station 120. As will be described in greater detail laterherein, in some embodiments the operator 145 may similarly wave/swipethe communication device 150 near the RFID reader 330 to clear anovercurrent condition or a ground fault condition.

The RFID reader 330 passes the information read to the charging stationcontroller 305. The charging station controller 305 is programmed toinclude instructions that establish charging sessions with the vehicles.In one embodiment, the operator 145 is authenticated and authorizedbased on the information the RFID reader 330 receives. While in oneembodiment of the invention the charging station 120 locally storesauthorization information (e.g., in the configuration/operator datastore 370), in other embodiments of the invention the charging stationcontroller 305 transmits an authorization request with a remote device(e.g., the server 180) via one of the transceivers 350. For example, thecharging station controller causes an authorization request to betransmitted to the data control unit 170 over a WPAN transceiver (e.g.,Bluetooth, ZigBee) or a LAN transceiver. The data control unit 170relays the authorization request to the server 180.

In some embodiments, in addition to or in lieu of vehicle operatorsinitiating charging sessions with RFID enabled devices, vehicleoperators may use the user interface 335 to initiate charging sessions.For example, vehicle operators may enter in account and/or paymentinformation through the user interface 335. For example, the userinterface 335 may allow the operator 145 to enter in a username/password(or other information) and/or payment information. In other embodimentsof the invention, vehicle operators may request charging sessionsthrough devices remote to the charging station 120 (e.g., paymentstations coupled with the charging stations). In addition, in someembodiments the operator 145 may use the user interface 335 to clear anovercurrent condition and/or a ground fault condition.

Sometime after the operator 145 is authorized, the charging stationcontroller 305 causes the charging point connection 155 to be energized.For example, the charging station controller 305 causes the electricitycontrol device 310 to complete the connection of the power line 135 tothe power grid 130. In one embodiment, the electricity control device310 is a solid-state device that is controlled by the charging stationcontroller 305 or any other device suitable for controlling the flow ofelectricity.

The current measuring device 320 measures the amount of current that isflowing on the power line 135 through the charging point connection 155(e.g., between the vehicle 110 and the charging station 120). In someembodiments, in addition to electric vehicles being able to be chargedfrom the power grid 130, these electric vehicles can be a source ofelectric power to be transferred to the power grid 130 (vehicle-to-grid(V2G)). While in one embodiment of the invention the current measuringdevice 320 measures flow of current, in an alternative embodiment of theinvention the current measuring device 320 measures power draw. Thecurrent measuring device 320 may include or be coupled with an inductioncoil or other devices suitable for measuring current. The currentmeasuring device 320 is coupled with the charging station controller305. The charging station controller 305 is programmed with instructionsto monitor the current data output from the current measuring device 320and to calculate the amount of electricity being used over a given timeperiod. As will be described later herein, the charging stationcontroller 305 is also programmed to determine whether an overcurrentcondition exists based on the current data received from the currentmeasuring device 320.

The display unit 340 is used to display messages to the operator 145(e.g., charging status, confirmation messages, error messages,notification messages, etc.). The display unit 340 may also displayparking information if the charging station 120 is also acting as aparking meter (e.g., amount of time remaining in minutes, parkingviolation, etc.).

The configuration/operator data store 370 stores configurationinformation which may be set by administrators, owners, or manufacturersof the charging station 120.

In one embodiment, the charging station controller 305 is programmedwith instructions to detect overcurrent conditions. Overcurrentconditions occur when the amount of electric current flowing on thepower line 135 exceeds an overcurrent threshold (locally for thecharging station 120). For example, from the data supplied from thecurrent measuring device 320, the charging station controller 305determines whether the amount of current flowing exceeds an overcurrentthreshold (the overcurrent threshold can be stored in theconfiguration/operator data store 370 or another suitable memory). Itshould be understood that overcurrent conditions can exist whentransferring electric power from the power grid to the electric vehiclesand when transferring electric power from the electric vehicles to thepower grid.

In one embodiment, the overcurrent threshold includes a time component.In such embodiments, an overcurrent condition will be triggered if theamount of electric current flowing on the power line 135 exceeds ormeets an amount for a continuous amount of time. Thus, a short burst ofcurrent flowing on the power line 135 may not trigger an overcurrentcondition. Different electric current amounts and time values can beused. For example, as the amount of current flowing on the power line135 increases, the amount of time the current must flow in order toexceed the overcurrent threshold decreases. For example, a firstovercurrent threshold may define an overcurrent condition as 20 ampsflowing on the power line for 15 seconds, while another overcurrentthreshold may define an overcurrent condition as 30 amps flowing on thepower line for 10 seconds. Of course it should be understood thatdifferent overcurrent thresholds can be used in embodiments of theinvention.

Upon detecting an overcurrent condition, the charging station controlleris further programmed with instructions to suspend the charging sessionand prevent electricity from flowing through the charging pointconnection 155. For example, the charging station controller 305 causesthe electricity control device 310 to de-energize the charging pointconnection 155. Furthermore, since circuit breakers typically cantolerate an amount of excess load for some amount of time (e.g., a shortburst of excess load typically will not cause the circuit breaker totrip), the charging station controller 305 can prevent the circuitbreaker 125 from tripping if it detects an overcurrent condition andstops the flow of current prior to the circuit breaker exceeding thetolerance point. Thus, the charging station controller 305 can detectovercurrent conditions and de-energize the charging point connection 155before the circuit breaker 125 trips.

The charging station controller 305 is further programmed to notify theserver 180 of suspended charging sessions due to overcurrent conditions.For example, after detecting an overcurrent condition and de-energizingthe charging point connection 155, the charging station controller 305transmits a charging session status update message to the server 180(e.g., via the transceivers 350) alerting the server 180 that thecharging session has changed from being in an active charging sessionstate to a suspended charging session state due to an overcurrentcondition. The charging session status update message can include anidentifier of the vehicle operator associated with the charging sessionthat has been suspended (e.g., the vehicle operator that initiated thatcharging session). In one embodiment, the identifier corresponds withthe information transmitted by the mobile communication device 150(e.g., the identifier transmitted by an RFID enabled device). Thecharging station controller 305 can also transmit accounting informationto the server 180 (e.g., the amount of electricity consumed by thecharging session, the amount of time elapsed during the chargingsession, etc.) after the charging session has been suspended.

After de-energizing the charging point connection 155, the chargingstation controller 305 may cause a notification message (e.g., textmessage, email message, etc.) to be sent to the vehicle operator and/orthe administrators/owner of the charging station 120 that indicates anovercurrent condition has occurred and the charging session has beensuspended. While in one embodiment the charging station controller 305directly transmits the notification message(s), in other embodiments theserver 180 transmits the notification message(s) after receiving anotification that the charging session has been suspended due to anovercurrent condition. The charging station controller 305 can alsodisplay via the display unit 340 the overcurrent condition and thesuspension of the charging session.

The charging station controller 305 is programmed to receive remoterequests to clear the overcurrent condition (e.g., via the RFID reader330 and/or the transceiver(s) 350). The charging station controller 305causes an authorization process to be performed on the received requeststo clear the overcurrent conditions. For example, in one embodiment thecharging station controller 305 locally performs an authorizationprocess on the received requests while in another embodiment thecharging station controller 305 generates an authorization request andtransmits the authorization request to the server 180 for theauthorization process to be performed. If the request is authorized, thecharging station controller 305 is further programmed with instructionsto clear the overcurrent condition and resume the charging session. Therequest may be received from the operator of the vehicle that initiatedthe charging session (e.g., the electric vehicle operator 145) and/orfrom an administrator or owner of the charging station 120.

In one embodiment, the electric vehicle operator 145 may use thecommunication device 150 to transmit the clear overcurrent conditionrequest (e.g., present the same RFID tag to the RFID reader 330 of thecharging station 120). In one embodiment the charging station 120locally authenticates and authorizes the request (e.g., the chargingstation maintains an identifier associated with the suspended chargingsession), while in other embodiments the charging station 120 transmitsthe request to the server 180 for authorization. The electric vehicleoperator 145 may also use a web portal (e.g., implemented with theserver 180) to transmit the clear overcurrent condition request and/ortransmit a text message to request the overcurrent condition to becleared. Other potential users of the charging station 120 will not beauthorized to clear the overcurrent condition. For example in someembodiments, only the RFID tag that was used to initiate the chargingsession and administrator RFID tags (with administrator privileges) areauthorized to clear the overcurrent condition.

In some embodiments the overcurrent conditions can also be cleared byadministrators or owners of the charging station 120. For example, anadministrator may present an administrator RFID enabled device (e.g., anRFID tag with administrator privileges) to the RFID reader 330 torequest that the overcurrent condition be cleared. In addition,administrators or owners can send a text message to the charging station120 to request that the overcurrent condition be cleared and/or use ahost portal to clear the overcurrent condition request.

Sometime after the charging station controller 305 authorizes therequest to clear the overcurrent condition, the charging stationcontroller 305 causes the electricity control device 310 to energize thecharging point connection 155. The charging session can then be resumed.Thus, it should be understood that unlike typical prior artimplementations which require a manual reset of a tripped circuitbreaker upon an overcurrent condition, embodiments of the inventionallow for a remote reset of an overcurrent condition without a manualreset of a tripped circuit breaker. Thus this prevents the need for amaintenance call to manually reset the circuit breaker which saves timeand saves money since the charging station cannot be used while thecircuit breaker is tripped.

Furthermore, since the charging station 120 locally handles overcurrentconditions which can prevent the circuit breaker 125 from tipping, anycharging stations that are also wired to the circuit breaker 125 willtypically not be affected by the overcurrent condition of the chargingstation 120. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, if the chargingstation 120 locally handles an overcurrent condition and prevents thecircuit breaker 125 from tripping, the charging stations 210 and 220which are also coupled with the circuit breaker 125 will not beaffected.

In one embodiment, the charging station controller 305 is programmedwith instructions to automatically clear overcurrent conditions andcause the charging point connection 155 to be energized after a certainamount of time (an automatic overcurrent condition retry) withoutreceiving a request. For example, after waiting for an amount of time(e.g., 15 minutes), the charging station controller 305 causes theelectricity control device 310 to energize the charging point connection155. In one embodiment, the automatic overcurrent condition retry can beperformed for a number of times over a given amount of time or during asingle charging session (e.g., 4 times in a charging session). However,if the overcurrent condition reappears over that number of times, thecharging station will cease to automatically clear the overcurrentcondition.

Sometime after the overcurrent condition is cleared, the chargingstation 120 is further programmed to notify the server 180 that theovercurrent condition is cleared (e.g., by transmitting a chargingsession status update message to the server 180 indicating that thecharging session has transitioned from a suspended charging state to anactive charging state). In some embodiments, sometime after theovercurrent condition is cleared, the charging station controller 305may cause a notification message (e.g., text message, email message,etc.) to be set to the vehicle operator and/or administrator(s) and/orowner(s) of the charging station 120 that indicates that the overcurrentcondition has been cleared and the charging session has been resumed.

In some embodiments, the current measuring device 320 can determinewhether an overcurrent condition exists and can directly cause theelectricity control device 310 to de-energize the charging pointconnection 155. In such embodiments, the current measuring device 320can also notify the charging station controller 305 that the chargingpoint connection 155 has been de-energized so the charging stationcontroller 305 can notify the server 180 and cause notification messagesto be transmitted as described above.

The GFCI device 360, which is coupled with the charging point connection155, the electricity control device 310, and the charging stationcontroller 305, measures the amount of electric current flowing on thehot wire coupled with the charging point connection 155 and the neutralwire coupled with the charging point connection 155 and can detectground fault conditions. During regular operation, the amount of currentflowing on the hot wire and the neutral wire should be substantiallyequivalent. If there is a difference, the GFCI device 360 is configuredto de-energize the charging point connection 155. The GFCI device 360can detect small differences in current (e.g., 5 milliamps) and canreact (e.g., de-energize the charging point connection 155) quickly(e.g., twenty milliseconds).

Sometime after the GFCI device 360 detects a ground fault condition(some amount of difference between the amount of electric currentflowing on the hot wire and the neutral wire), the GFCI device 360 mayalso alert the charging station controller 305 of the ground faultcondition. The charging station controller 305 can then suspend thecharging session. The charging station controller 305 is furtherprogrammed to notify the server 180 of suspended charging sessions dueto ground fault conditions in a similar way as overcurrent conditions.For example, the charging station controller 305 transmits a chargingsession status update message to the server 180 (e.g., via thetransceivers 350) alerting the server 180 that the charging session haschanged from being in an active charging session state to a suspendedcharging session state due to a ground fault condition. The chargingsession status update message can include an identifier of the vehicleoperator associated with the charging session that has been suspended(e.g., the vehicle operator that initiated that charging session). Inone embodiment, the identifier corresponds with the informationtransmitted by the mobile communication device 150 (e.g., the identifiertransmitted by an RFID enabled device). The charging station controller305 can also transmit accounting information to the server 180 (e.g.,the amount of electricity consumed by the charging session, the amountof time elapsed during the charging session, etc.) after the chargingsession has been suspended.

After a ground fault condition has been detected, the charging stationcontroller 305 may cause a notification message (e.g., text message,email message, etc.) to be sent to the vehicle operator and/or theadministrators/owner of the charging station 120 that indicates a groundfault condition has occurred and the charging session has beensuspended. While in one embodiment the charging station controller 305directly transmits the notification message(s), in other embodiments theserver 180 transmits the notification message(s) after receiving anotification that the charging session has been suspended due to aground fault condition. The charging station controller 305 can alsodisplay a notice of the ground fault condition and the suspension of thecharging session on the display unit 340.

The charging station controller 305 is also programmed to clear theground fault condition upon receipt of an authorized request. Similar tothe request to clear an overcurrent condition, the charging stationcontroller 305 can receive authorized requests to clear a ground faultconditions from the vehicle operator that initiated the charging session(e.g., the vehicle operator 145) and/or from an administrator or ownerof the charging station 120. For example, the electric vehicle operator145 can use the communication device 150 to transmit the clear groundfault condition request (e.g., by presenting the same RFID tag to thecharging station 120 as was used to initiate the charging session). Inone embodiment the charging station controller 305 locally authenticatesand authorizes the request (e.g., the charging station maintains anidentifier associated with the suspended charging session), while inother embodiments the charging station controller 305 generates andtransmits an authorization request to the server 180 for authorization.The electric vehicle operator 145 may also transmit the clear groundfault condition request via a web portal and/or transmit the request bytext message or email. Other potential users of the charging station 120will not be authorized to clear the ground fault condition. For examplein some embodiments, only the RFID tag that was used to initiate thecharging session and administrator RFID tags (with administratorprivileges) are authorized to clear the ground fault condition.

Administrators and/or owners of the charging station 120 can also submita clear ground fault condition request to clear the ground faultcondition. For example, an administrator can present an administratorRFID enabled device (e.g., an RFID tag with administrator privileges) tothe RFID reader 330 to request that the ground fault condition becleared. The administrator(s) and/or owner(s) of the charging station120 may also submit the request through a host portal (implementedwithin the server 180) which communicates the request to the chargingstation 120, and/or transmit the request via text message or email.

Sometime after the charging station controller 305 receives the requestto clear the ground fault condition and authorizes that request, thecharging station controller 305 causes the electricity control device310 to energize the charging point connection 155. After the chargingpoint connection 155 is energized, the charging session can be resumed.Of course it should be understood that in some circumstances, thecharging session will be terminated instead of being resumed (e.g., ifthe vehicle operator has removed the charging cord from the chargingstation 120). It should also be understood that unlike typical prior artimplementations which require a manual reset of a GFCI device,embodiments of the invention allow for a remote clearing of a GFCIcondition which prevents the need for a manual reset.

In one embodiment, the ground fault condition is automatically clearedand the charging point connection 155 is energized after a certainamount of time (an automatic ground fault condition retry). In oneembodiment the charging station controller 305 is programmed to performthe automatic ground fault condition retry while in other embodimentsthe GFCI device 360 performs the automatic ground fault condition retry.For example, after waiting for an amount of time (e.g., 15 minutes), theelectricity control device 310 energizes the charging point connection155. In one embodiment, the automatic ground fault condition retry canbe performed for a number of times over a given amount of time or duringa single charging session (e.g., 4 times in a charging session).However, if the ground fault condition reappears over that number oftimes, the charging station will assume that the underlying situationcausing the ground fault condition has not changed and the chargingstation ceases to automatically clear the ground fault condition.

Sometime after the ground fault condition is cleared, the chargingstation 120 is further programmed to notify the server 180 that theground fault condition is cleared (e.g., by transmitting a chargingsession status update message to the server 180 indicating that thecharging session has transitioned from a suspended charging state to anactive charging state).

In some embodiments, sometime after the ground fault condition iscleared, the charging station controller 305 may cause a notificationmessage (e.g., text message, email message, etc.) to be sent to thevehicle operator and/or administrator(s) and/or owner(s) of the chargingstation 120 that indicates that the ground fault condition has beencleared and the charging session has been resumed.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary operations for remotelyclearing overcurrent conditions or ground fault conditions in anetworked charging station for electric vehicles. The operations of FIG.4 will be described with reference to the exemplary embodiment of FIG.3. However, it should be understood that the operations of FIG. 4 can beperformed by embodiments of the invention other than those discussedwith reference to FIG. 3, and the embodiments discussed with referenceto FIG. 3 can perform operations different than those discussed withreference to FIG. 4. In one embodiment, the operations described withreference to FIG. 4 are performed by the charging station controller305.

At block 410, the charging station controller 305 establishes a chargingsession including energizing the charging point connection 155. Withreference to FIG. 1, a charging session has been established between theelectric vehicle 110 and the charging station 120. Flow moves from block410 to block 420.

At block 420 the charging station 120 monitors electric current. Forexample, the current measuring device 320 measures electric current onthe power line 135 and provides current data to the charging stationcontroller 305. Based on that current data, the charging stationcontroller 305 can determine whether an overcurrent condition exists.The GFCI device 360 measures electric current on the hot wire andneutral wire coupled with the charging connection point 155 to determinewhether a ground fault condition exists. Flow moves from block 420 toblocks 430 and 435.

At block 430, the charging station controller 305 detects whether anovercurrent condition exists. For example, an overcurrent conditionexists when the current flowing through the charging point connection155 on the power line 135 exceeds an overcurrent threshold. In oneembodiment, the charging station controller 305 compares the currentdata received from the current measuring device 320 against one or moreovercurrent thresholds. As described previously, the charging stationcontroller 305 can compare the current data to different overcurrentthresholds and the overcurrent thresholds may include a time component.If the current exceeds or meets an overcurrent threshold, an overcurrentcondition is detected and flow moves to block 440. If an overcurrentthreshold is not exceeded, then an overcurrent condition is not detectedand flow moves back to block 420.

At block 435, the GFCI device 360 detects whether a ground faultcondition exists. For example, a ground fault condition exists whenthere is a difference between the amount of current flowing on the hotwire and the neutral wire that are coupled with the charging pointconnection 155. If the GFCI device 360 detects a ground fault condition,then flow moves to block 440 otherwise flow moves back to block 420.

At block 440, electricity is prevented from flowing on the power line135 by de-energizing the charging point connection 155. For example, ifan overcurrent condition is detected, the charging station controller305 causes the electricity control device 310 to break the electricalconnection between the charging point connection 155 and the power line135. If a GFCI condition is detected, the GFCI device 360 causes theelectricity control device 310 to break the electrical connectionbetween the charging point connection 155 and the power line 135. Thecharging station controller 305 also suspends the charging session. Thecharging station controller 305 also increments a detected conditionvalue. The charging station controller 305 may also cause a notificationmessage (e.g., email, text message, etc.) to be transmitted to thevehicle operator 145 and/or administrators or owners of the chargingstation 120 indicating that the charging session has been suspended dueto a ground fault condition or an overcurrent condition. In addition,the charging station 305 causes a charging session status update messageto be sent to the server 180 that indicates that the charging sessionhas been suspended due to a ground fault condition or an overcurrentcondition. Flow moves from block 440 to block 445.

At block 445, the charging station controller 305 determines whether thenumber of conditions that have been detected during the charging sessionexceeds a detected condition limit. In some embodiments, the chargingstation 120 only allows conditions (overcurrent conditions and/or groundfault conditions) to be cleared remotely (and/or automatically) acertain number of times before it will terminate the charging session.Thus, if the number of conditions that has been detected exceeds adetected condition limit, then flow moves to block 470 where thecharging session is terminated, otherwise flow moves to block 450. Aftera charging session is terminated, that charging session cannot beresumed (thus the vehicle operator cannot clear the detected conditionand resume the charging session with a remote request).

At block 450, the charging station controller 305 determines whether anauthorized request has been received to clear the detected condition. Ifan authorized request has been received, then flow moves to block 460,otherwise flow moves back to block 450 where the charging stationcontroller 305 continues to wait for a request to clear the detectedcondition. As previously described, the request to clear the detectedcondition can be received from the operator that initiated the sessionand/or administrators and/or owners of the charging station 120.

At block 460, the charging station controller 305 clears the detectedcondition allowing the charging session to be resumed or a new chargingsession to be established without a manual reset of a circuit breaker(e.g., without a manual reset of the circuit breaker 125) or a GFCIdevice. For example, the charging station controller 305 causes theelectricity control device 310 to energize the charging point connection155 to allow current to flow on the power line 135 between the vehicle110 and the power grid 130. If the charging session is to be resumed,then flow moves back to block 420 where the electric current ismonitored. If the charging session is to be terminated, then flow movesto block 470.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary state diagram for a networked chargingstation for electric vehicles that allows for a remote clearing ofovercurrent conditions and/or ground fault conditions according to oneembodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 will be described with reference tothe exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3.

The charging station 120 begins in the idle state 510. In the idle state510, the charging station 120 is not currently charging an electricvehicle. The charging station 120 transitions from the idle state 510 tothe charging state 520 after establishing a charging session 515. Aspreviously described herein, establishing the charging session 515includes energizing a charging point connection (e.g., the chargingpoint connection 155) of the charging station 120. The current betweenthe electric vehicle 110 and the charging station 120 is monitored inthe charging state 520.

The charging station 120 transitions from the charging state 520 to thecharging suspended state 530 after detecting an overcurrent condition ora ground fault condition 525. In the charging suspended state 530, thecharging point connection 155 is de-energized thereby preventing currentfrom flowing between the electric vehicle 110 and the charging station120. In one embodiment, the charging station 120 transitions from thecharging suspended state 530 back to the charging state 520 afterreceiving an authorized request to clear the condition 535 that causedthe charging session to be suspended. As previously described herein,the authorized request may be received from the vehicle operator 110and/or from the administrators of the charging station 120 and/or fromthe owners of the charging station 120. In one embodiment, the chargingstation 120 transitions from the charging suspended state 530 back tothe idle state 510 after receiving a request to clear the condition 535.For example, the vehicle operator 110 can clear the condition bywaving/swiping the mobile communication device 150 near the chargingstation 120 and can determine to end the session rather than continuecharging the vehicle 110 (e.g., in order to remove the cord from thecharging station 120).

Thus, the networked charging station described herein protects againstovercurrent conditions and/or ground fault conditions while allowingthose conditions to be reset remotely thereby eliminating the need forthem in the reset of a circuit breaker or a ground fault circuitinterrupt device. This reduces the cost of clearing the conditions andallows the charging sessions to be resumed more quickly and moreefficiently than prior limitations. For example, in typicalimplementations, a charging station is coupled with a circuit breakerlocated in a panel that is inaccessible to vehicle operators and must bereset by maintenance personnel (e.g., administrators of the chargingstation) when tripped. It should be understood that a charging stationcannot be used while its circuit is currently tripped. Thus, there canbe significant downtime of the charging station and the potential lossof revenue if a manual reset of the circuit breaker is required. Asimilar downtime may be experienced if a manual reset of a GFCI deviceis required. In contrast, with embodiments of the invention, overcurrentconditions and/or ground fault conditions can be reset remotely by theoperator of the electric vehicle associated with the charging sessionand/or administrators and/or owners of the network charging stationthereby preventing the need for a maintenance call for a manual reset ofa circuit breaker or a GFCI device.

Furthermore, since circuit breakers typically can tolerate an amount ofexcess load for some amount of time (e.g., a short burst of excess loadtypically will not cause the circuit breaker to trip), the networkedcharging station described herein can prevent the circuit breaker fromtripping since it can detect an overcurrent condition and stop the flowof current.

Furthermore, the overcurrent protection in the networked chargingstation described herein protects the circuitry in the networkedcharging station from overheating and potentially causing a fire.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary architecture of acharging station that may be used in some embodiments of the invention.It should be understood that while FIG. 6 illustrates various componentsof a charging station, it is not intended to represent any particulararchitecture or manner of interconnecting the components as such detailsare not germane to the present invention. It will be appreciated thatother charging stations that have fewer components or more componentsmay also be used with the present invention. In one embodiment, thearchitecture illustrated in the charging station 600 is representativeof the architecture of the charging station 120.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the charging station 600, which is a form of acomputing device, includes the bus(es) 650 which is coupled with theprocessing system 620, power supply 625, memory 630, and the nonvolatilememory 640 (e.g., a hard drive, flash memory, Phase-Change Memory (PCM),etc.). The bus(es) 650 may be connected to each other through variousbridges, controllers, and/or adapters as is well known in the art. Theprocessing system 620 can include one or more processors and canretrieve instruction(s) from the memory 630 and/or the nonvolatilememory 640, and execute the instructions to perform operations asdescribed above. The bus 650 interconnects the above components togetherand also interconnects those components to the display controller &display device 670, Input/Output device(s) 680 (e.g., NIC (NetworkInterface Card), a cursor control (e.g., mouse, touchscreen, touchpad,etc.), a keyboard, etc.), and the transceiver(s) 690 (wiredtransceiver(s) (e.g., Ethernet, power line communication (PLC), etc.)and/or wireless transceiver(s) (e.g., 802.15.4 (e.g., ZigBee, etc.),Bluetooth, WiFi, Infrared, GPRS/GSM, CDMA, RFID, etc.)).

While the GFCI device 360 and the current measuring device 320 haveillustrated and described as separate devices, in some embodiments thefunctionality described herein of the GFCI device 360 and the currentmeasuring device 320 can be performed by a single device. Thus, thissingle device can detect GFCI conditions and overcurrent conditions.

While embodiments have been described with reference to the GFCI device360 causing the electricity control device 310 to de-energize thecharging point connection 155 by breaking the electrical connection ofthe power line 135, in some embodiments the GFCI device 360 does notinstruct the electricity control device 310 to break the electricalconnection but rather includes a switch itself to de-energize thecharging point connection 155.

While the flow diagrams in the figures show a particular order ofoperations performed by certain embodiments of the invention, it shouldbe understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternativeembodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combinecertain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.)

While the invention has been described in terms of several embodiments,those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is notlimited to the embodiments described, can be practiced with modificationand alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Thedescription is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of limiting.

1. A method for protecting against overcurrent conditions in a networked charging station for electric vehicles performed on the networked charging station for electric vehicles, the method comprising: receiving a request from an operator of an electric vehicle to establish a charging session for the electric vehicle; establishing the charging session for the operator including energizing a charging point connection of the networked charging station to allow current to flow through a charging cord towards the electric vehicle; responsive to detecting an overcurrent condition, performing the following: preventing current from flowing through the charging cord by de-energizing the charging point connection, and suspending the charging session; receiving a remote request to clear the detected overcurrent condition; and responsive to receiving the remote request to clear the detected overcurrent condition, performing the following: clearing the overcurrent condition without a manual reset of a circuit breaker coupled with the networked charging station for electric vehicles, energizing the charging point connection, and resuming the charging session.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising protecting against ground fault conditions, including the following : responsive to detecting a ground fault condition, performing the following: preventing current from flowing through the charging cord by de-energizing the charging point connection, and suspending the charging session; receiving a remote request to clear the detected ground fault condition; and responsive to receiving the remote request to clear the ground fault condition, performing the following: clearing the ground fault condition without a manual reset of a ground fault circuit interrupter device, energizing the charging point connection, and resuming the charging session.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the request to establish the charging session is received from a mobile wireless communication device of the operator, and wherein the remote request to clear the detected overcurrent condition is received from the operator of the electric vehicle via the mobile wireless communication device or a subscriber web portal, or received from an administrator of the networked charging station via a different mobile wireless communication device or a host portal.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the request to establish the charging session is received from a mobile wireless communication device of the operator, and wherein the remote request to clear the detected ground fault condition is received from the operator of the electric vehicle via the mobile wireless communication device or a subscriber web portal, or received from an administrator of the networked charging station via a different mobile wireless communication device or a host portal.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the charging point connection is a power receptacle.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the charging point connection is an attached charging cord.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein responsive to detecting the overcurrent condition, further notifying an administrator of the networked charging station that the charging session has been suspended due to the overcurrent condition, and wherein responsive to detecting the ground fault condition, further notifying the administrator of the networked charging station that the charging session has been suspended due to the ground fault condition.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein responsive to detecting the overcurrent condition, further notifying the operator that the charging session has been suspended, and wherein responsive to detecting the ground fault condition, further notifying the operator that the charging session has been suspended.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the notifying includes transmitting an email message or a text message to the operator.
 10. A networked charging station for electric vehicles, comprising: a charging point connection to couple electric vehicles to a power line coupled with a power grid; an electricity control device coupled with the charging point connection to control the flow of electricity to the charging point connection; a current measuring device coupled with the charging point connection to measure electric current flowing on the power line through the charging point connection; a charging station controller coupled with the electricity control device and the current measuring device, the charging station controller to receive current data from the current measuring device and to perform the following: detect overcurrent conditions based on the current data received from the current measuring device, and responsive to detecting an overcurrent condition, cause the electricity control device to de-energize the charging point connection, receive requests to clear the overcurrent conditions, cause an authorization to be performed on the received requests, and responsive to receipt of an authorized request to clear an overcurrent condition, cause the electricity control device to energize the charging point connection without a manual reset of a circuit breaker coupled with the networked charging station for electric vehicles.
 11. The networked charging station for electric vehicles of claim 10, further comprising: a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) device coupled with the electricty control device and the charging station controller, the GFCI device to detect ground fault conditions and cause the electricity control device to de-energize the charging point connection.
 12. The networked charging station for electric vehicles of claim 11, wherein the charging station controller is further configured to perform the following: receive requests to clear the ground fault conditions, cause an authorization to be performed on the received requests, and responsive to receipt of an authorized request to clear a ground fault condition, cause the electricity control device to energize the charging point connection without a manual reset of the GFCI device.
 13. The networked charging station for electric vehicles of claim 12, wherein the charging point connection is a power receptacle.
 14. The networked charging station for electric vehicles of claim 12, wherein the charging point connection is an attached charging cord.
 15. The networked charging station for electric vehicles of claim 12, further comprising: a RFID (Radio-frequency identification) reader to read RFID tags from mobile communication devices and pass that information to the charging station controller; and wherein the requests to clear the overcurrent conditions are received through the RFID reader and provided to the charging station controller.
 16. The networked charging station for electric vehicles of claim 15, further comprising: a set of one or more transceivers to communicate with an electric vehicle charging station network server, wherein the communication includes the following: transmission of information received from the RFID reader to the electric vehicle charging station network server for authorization, and transmission of charging session status update messages that indicate a change in charging session status from active to suspended, and from suspended to active.
 17. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that provides instructions that, if executed by a processor on a networked charging station for electric vehicles, will cause said processor to perform operations for protecting against overcurrent conditions, said operations comprising: receiving a request from an operator of an electric vehicle to establish a charging session for the electric vehicle; establishing the charging session for the operator including energizing a charging point connection of the networked charging station to allow current to flow through a charging cord towards the electric vehicle; responsive to detecting an overcurrent condition, performing the following: preventing current from flowing through the charging cord by de-energizing the charging point connection, and suspending the charging session; receiving a remote request to clear the detected overcurrent condition; and responsive to receiving the remote request to clear the detected overcurrent condition, performing the following: clearing the overcurrent condition without a manual reset of a circuit breaker coupled with the networked charging station for electric vehicles, energizing the charging point connection, and resuming the charging session.
 18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising protecting against ground fault conditions, including the following: receiving a remote request to clear a ground fault condition; and responsive to receiving the remote request to clear the ground fault condition, performing the following: clearing the ground fault condition without a manual reset of a ground fault circuit interrupter device, energizing the charging point connection, and resuming the charging session.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the request to establish the charging session is received from a mobile wireless communication device of the operator, and wherein the remote request to clear the detected overcurrent condition is received from the operator of the electric vehicle via the mobile wireless communication device or a subscriber web portal, or received from an administrator of the networked charging station via a different mobile wireless communication device or a host portal.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the request to establish the charging session is received from a mobile wireless communication device of the operator, and wherein the remote request to clear the detected ground fault condition is received from the operator of the electric vehicle via the mobile wireless communication device or a subscriber web portal, or received from an administrator of the networked charging station via a different mobile wireless communication device or a host portal. 